Time Exposure
by carcassi
Summary: A Chlark fic that's dedicated to everyone who hated the ending in Spirit. Jimmy teams up with a former SV cast member to help Clark work out a few relationship issues. Sequel of sorts to Action Capture and Infinity Shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Time Exposure**

**A/N: **This story is the third in my "Jimmy Olsen series" (_Infinity Shot_ and _Action Capture_ are the first two), but it can be read as a stand-alone fic. (For those who'd like to know what happened at the _Daily Planet_'s Halloween party, it's explained in _Action Capture_.)

**Chapter One**

My Dad used to say that some folks improved with absence. As far as I was concerned, no one fit that description better than Jimmy Olsen.

I grabbed a thick pine fence post from the pile at my feet and shoved it three feet into the packed dirt of our newest cow pasture, not bothering to use the mallet I'd brought for the job.

What Chloe saw in that guy, I had no idea. He seemed nice enough, for someone who thought Egyptians still used hieroglyphs, but he wasn't in her league at all. In fact, from the way she mothered him sometimes, I wasn't sure if she wanted to date the kid, or adopt him. So why did Chloe's face light up like a Christmas tree whenever he sent her a stupid text message? She could do a lot better.

I knew it was no business of mine, of course, because Chloe and I were just friends. It's just that he came between Chloe and me, and I was used to having her to myself.

Glancing up, I was surprised to notice that a long line of pine pillars now marched along the pasture's boundary, and the pile of posts at my feet had dwindled almost to nothing. Had I really done all that just now? Weird. I shot a cautious look around me to check for any witnesses, and switched into X-ray mode to peer through the thick trunks of a clump of nearby trees, but all I noticed were a few grazing does and a rabbit or two. Breathing a small sigh of relief, I grabbed the mallet and made a point of finishing the job at human speed, reminding myself to be more careful.

Lately, I'd tried to steer clear of Chloe whenever Jimmy was around, especially since last month's Halloween party at the _Daily Planet_, when I'd seen the two of them kiss. The evening wasn't a complete disaster—I did save Jimmy, and the _Planet_, from being blown away by a couple of would-be bombers—but it was the kiss that stuck in my mind.

It made me think of another kiss, in that same office, only a few months before, when the world was going crazy and Chloe pressed up against me like there wasn't going to be a tomorrow. I still remember the sound of her heartbeat against my chest, and the silky feel of her hair under my hand. I remembered how much I wanted to keep holding her close, no matter what happened. It might have been only a "goodbye" kiss to her, but to me it meant a lot more.

It's funny, isn't it? I trust Chloe with my deepest secrets, and even with my life, but somehow I couldn't bring myself to tell her how I felt. It wasn't fair to ask Chloe to give up all hope of a normal life, in exchange for a guy from another planet who came saddled with problems that would send most people off the deep end.

Oh, who am I kidding? My reasons weren't that noble. The truth is I was just scared I'd be hurt, once Chloe got tired of putting up with me, and that I'd wind up losing my best friend. That's why I held back—and by the time I finally spoke up, it was too late.

Now, Jimmy was the one tasting those soft lips, and feeling that warm body pressed against his.

A loud "thump" made me look down. The fence post I'd been holding was now drilled at least twenty feet into the ground. Crap. Unless I wanted to bore down deep enough to pull it out, it was gone for good. Guiltily, I covered over the hole and reached for another pine shaft, forcing myself to concentrate on the job.

It was for the best, after all. Chloe had a right to date within her own species. And it wasn't as if Chloe and I didn't have plenty of other, more serious, problems to keep us busy, like rounding up dangerous alien criminals, and keeping an eye on that arrow-slinging millionaire who was dating Lois. As a friend, I really should be happy Chloe's found someone she loves.

The post I was hammering splintered into matchstick-size pieces that burst into sudden flame as they fell to the ground. Horrified, I beat back the heat behind my eyes and blew freezing air on the burning chips before they hit the dry meadow grass.

This had to stop. I needed to think about something else.

The buzzing from my cell phone was a welcome distraction. I pulled it out of my jeans pocket, flipped it open without bothering to check caller ID, and grinned in startled delight at the sound of a very familiar voice.

**TBC……**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** The POV changes here…..hope it isn't too confusing! This chapter re-introduces a much-missed member of the SV cast. :)

**Chapter Two**

Most guys who knock on the door of their girlfriend's apartment know what to expect when the door opens. But then, most guys aren't dating Chloe Sullivan.

She lives in Smallville, where plants attack, rocks glow green, Luthors vanish into thin air, and meteors fly through the air every decade or so. Squads of Special Ops teams might blanch at this, but Chloe? If the Abominable Snowman showed up in her living room, she'd flash her press pass and demand an exclusive interview, then hit speed-dial and tell me to bring my camera. She is, hands down, the most amazing girl I've ever met.

Which makes it hard to explain why, as I climbed the stairs to her place with an armful of daisies, I was debating whether I should tell her that she'd be happier with another man.

"Olsen, you must be losing your mind," I muttered under my breath, raising my free hand to tap on the door. "Maybe Weirdsville ate your brain."

Stranger things have happened in this little hamlet. For example, there was the way Chloe and that towering pillar of small-town charm, Clark Kent, somehow refuse to notice that they're in love with each other. To me, that's a bigger mystery than a meteor shower any day of the week.

Since that night at the _Planet_, I hadn't caught so much as a glimpse of red-and-blue plaid anywhere within camera range. Hard as it was to believe, C.K. was leaving Chloe and me alone, almost as if he'd conceded defeat. I felt as surprised as a mouse who'd scared off a lion—and also as puzzled.

I've been dumped for better-looking guys more times than I can count, but not being dumped when I should've been? This is a first. And I've been enjoying it, believe me, but the longer I've known C.K., the more I feel as if I'm walking all over Mom and apple pie. As for Chloe, she deserves what she really wants, and that's not me.

I'd trade my first—well, my _second_—Pulitzer to know why Chloe didn't set the record straight herself.

That's when the door opened. Did I mention that when you're with Chloe, you never know what to expect? I wouldn't have been shocked to find C.K. looming over me, but instead, I found myself looking down, not up, and at a complete stranger. In a tux.

For a girl who claimed not to date much, Chloe sure attracted a lot of attention. My mouth opened, but no words came out.

The shorter guy was young, with dark skin that made his friendly grin look almost too bright as he waved me inside. "Let me guess. Jimmy Olsen?"

I looked at him, too surprised to answer, and nearly dropped the little bouquet that I'd picked up minutes ago from a street vendor. I grabbed it just before it slipped to the floor, and his grin widened until it almost split his face in two. At the friendly twinkle in his eye, I relaxed a little in spite of myself.

"Chloe's favorite flowers, huh? Clever, my man." He reached out to take the daisies, then stuck out his free hand with the ease of a politician at a church carnival. "Pete Ross, I'm a friend of Chlo's from high school. Pleased to meet you."

His handshake was firm and short, also like a politician's, and automatically I tried to remember if I'd ever taken his picture at any fundraisers or campaign events. "Pete Ross….yeah, that name does ring a bell. Aren't you going to school in Topeka?"

"Yeah, but over the break I'm working on Senator DeKnight's reelection campaign—he's a friend of Mrs. Kent's," he explained. "The Senator's in Grandville for a fundraiser, so I dropped by to say hello to my high school buddies." He tugged at his bow tie and pulled a face. "And got volunteered to chaperone at Smallville High's annual Snow Ball. Go me."

Pete laid the flowers on the counter of the apartment's postage-stamp sized kitchen. "Chloe's getting ready," he said, nodding toward the closed bedroom door. "She'll be out once, you know, she turns into Ms. Natural Beauty."

"I heard that!" a muffled voice chimed in from behind the closed door. "Thanks for the flowers, Jimmy, I'll be out in a few!"

Chloe's tuxedoed friend glanced toward the bedroom. "Too bad that _some people_ don't want to come keep me company, for old times' sake," he said mournfully. "The principal told me they're short on volunteers this year." From behind the door, I heard something that sounded like a snort.

Pete shrugged and flopped onto the old couch in the middle of the room, looking as comfortable as if he'd been dressed in sweats, and rested his wingtip-encased feet on the glass coffee table. "It's a good thing Clark's a softer touch. I'd already rented him a tux by the time I called him, so he couldn't say no. We're meeting at the school."

He stretched, and brushed an imaginary piece of lint from the sleeve of his black jacket. "I just swung by here to visit for a little while before I start confiscating booze and breaking up fights. At least the music ought to be good."

"You're a friend of C.K.'s, too?" That reminded me of something, but I wasn't sure what.

He shot me a look of complete disbelief. "Only since we were, like, four years old. We worked on the school paper together. Didn't Chloe tell you?"

Now it came back to me. "Oh, sure," I said quickly, taking a seat next to him. "The _Torch_. She said you were a great photographer."

He laughed. "That's not what she used to tell me in the _Torch_ newsroom. Usually, she just grabbed what I gave her and complained that it was late. Which it usually was." His feet touched a pile of red leather-bound books teetering on the edge of the coffee table. "If you want to see some of my stuff, take a look. I've been taking a trip down Memory Lane."

I rescued the falling pile just in time, and picked up the top volume. It was embossed with the emblem of a crow flying over a yellow banner that proudly announced "Smallville High" in big black letters. I skimmed the pages, inspecting the hopeful expressions of the Class of 2001.

He leaned back, grinning. "Just reliving the good old days when I ruled the school. Not."

I grinned back as I started riffling through the yearbook's pages. "In _my_ school, the cool kids didn't even know my name. I think my yearbook photo's filed under 'C.G.' for 'Camera Geek.'" He laughed at that, and I knew I'd made a friend.

A very young Chloe, in cargo pants and a tight red top, beamed out at me from the pages of the book. Her hair was shorter and flippier, but as always, she seemed to crackle with energy, posing in front of a messy bulletin board that was papered over with what looked like newspaper clippings. Naturally, C.K. stood right next to her, so tall, even as a ninth-grader, that the top of the photo cut off part of his hair.

"The esteemed Editor-in-Chief of the _Torch_ and her star reporter," Pete explained. "Someday, when Chlo's famous, and they're writing articles about how she got her start, this is the picture they'll show."

I wondered if C.K. would still be by her side when that article was written. Somehow, I thought so.

There were several candid shots on the page, but I noticed that only one of them included Pete. "What, were you camera-shy?" I asked, half-joking.

His smile seemed a little sad. "You know how it is," he shrugged. "Someone has to take the pictures. The photographer always gets left out."

I nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, I know how it is." We looked at each other. "Kinda sucks, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." His eyes dropped, but only for a minute. When his head popped up again, his grin had returned full-force. "But I've got my moments."

He turned back to the book and skimmed to a page near the end with the headline "Spring Formal 2001" splashed across the top in big yellow letters, and pointed at a large two-shot in the upper left-hand corner. "There's a picture of me with my date," he announced proudly, tapping on the photo of a shorter, stockier Pete gleefully arm-in-arm with a sexy number in a red gown. "Her name was Erica. Not bad for a freshman, huh?"

My eyes slid from the picture to a group shot of the dance floor. Poking up over the rest of the crowd, like a giant redwood in a forest, was C.K.'s dark head, and in his arms was Chloe.

It didn't tell me anything I hadn't already guessed, but it gave me an opening, and I took it. "I didn't know Chloe and C.K. ever dated," I said carefully, watching Pete. "She's always said they're just friends."

He hesitated. "It was just for a few weeks," he said, a little stiffly, I thought. "It wasn't serious." For a moment, his eyes dropped, and I knew he didn't believe what he'd just said, any more than I did. It made me wonder what he wasn't saying.

As if to close the subject, he snatched the book from my lap and snapped it shut. "Did Chlo' tell you that she was Queen of the Prom our senior year?" he asked, almost too eagerly. "I was in Topeka by then, so I missed it, but there's an awesome shot of her in here." He slid another volume out of the middle of the pile, flipped to a page near the end, and jabbed a finger. "Check it out!"

He was right. In her blue halter-top gown and sparkling tiara, Chloe made a dazzling picture, even though her smile seemed a little off, and her eyes too bright. I chalked it up to the thrill of the moment, and wondered why Chloe'd never mentioned this.

"Is that it? Just that one shot?" I asked, still searching the page. "Where's Chloe's dance with the King? Or with her date? At my school, missing photo ops of the Prom Queen would've gotten me lynched."

Pete didn't answer, so I turned the page to scope out the rest of the prom spread. I spotted C.K. right away in a group shot, and stared in surprise at the pretty, dark-haired girl he held close against his chest. "Whoa! Isn't that Lex Luthor's girlfriend?"

Pete's cheery face darkened. "She is now. I guess she thinks she traded up."

Oh. _Oh_.

As I eyed the couple frozen in time by the camera, I compared the love-struck look on C.K.'s face to the smiles and laughter he usually shared with Chloe. Things were beginning to come into focus. "I guess he had it bad, huh?"

Still frowning over the page, Pete shrugged. "It was strictly one-sided." Again, there was that feeling of so much left unsaid. It was a feeling I was beginning to get used to, when it came to C.K.

I lowered my voice, keeping a nervous eye on the bedroom door. "How did Chloe feel about this?"

His eyes widened and the grin returned. "Not so dumb after all, are you?"

Shifting uncomfortably, I wondered if Chloe had told him about the dressing-down I'd gotten from Kahn over my "Egyptian conspiracy" idea. Who knew they'd quit using hieroglyphs a while ago? I'd never been that interested in history; usually I just skimmed the books for the pictures.

"Smart enough to see what's right in front of me, anyway," I mumbled. "She still loves him, doesn't she?"

"Mmm-hmmm," Pete answered, eyes still on the page. "But I don't blame her for not wanting to be the rebound girl."

I shook my head. "It's not like that. You haven't seen the way C.K. looks at her."

"Yes, I have," he said quietly, and shrugged. "But what can you do?"

No one would ever call me an idea guy. But as I stared at those two-year-old prom photos, I had a sudden inspiration, and a plan started to form in my mind. I closed the yearbook and smiled at his raised eyebrows. "Go back in time."

His eyes narrowed skeptically. "Are you thinking what I _think_ you're thinking? Because it's never gonna work, man."

"Sure it will," I answered confidently, and hoped to Hell I was right.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**A/N:** Switching back here to Clark's POV. And the dance begins……

The Snow Ball was in full swing, and the boringly familiar Smallville High gym had been transformed by twinkling lights and silver streamers into a Yuletide-themed dance club, every square inch of which was packed with well-dressed teenagers. Only a few years ago I'd been one of them, but now I felt as if I'd landed on an alien planet.

I mean, _another_ alien planet. Besides Earth.

I fingered my bow tie nervously and wished I hadn't let Pete talk me into this. "How much longer do we have to stay?" I asked, raising my voice and hoping it carried over the blaring music.

Pete was as much in his element as I was out of it. He waved at a couple of kids I recognized from the junior varsity football team and handed me a plastic punch cup spilling over with gingerale. "A couple of hours." As he took in the swaying couples shimmying across the gym floor, his eyes glowed with an enthusiasm that I could only envy.

When the song ended, he turned to me, taking advantage of the few seconds of silence. "Nice tunes, huh? The DJ's a buddy of mine, I talked him into loading up on plenty of older stuff, like Coldplay and Remy Zero. How does it feel to be back?"

"Weird." The last time I'd dressed up in a tux was at our Senior Prom, when Lana and I had danced. That seemed a very long time ago now. We'd both been through a lot since then, and grown in different directions.

"Thinking about Lana?"

I smiled into Pete's sharp eyes. Having my oldest friend around was both a blessing and a curse, I thought. "How can you tell?"

"You get all moony-eyed. Like a super-sick sheep." He grimaced. "You're not still hung up on her, are you?"

Slowly, I shook my head. "That was a dream. I'm awake now." In more ways than one, I thought. I'd wasted every chance I'd ever had with Chloe, and now that I knew it, it was too late to do anything about it.

Pete stared at me. "Damn. He was right."

I stared back. "What do you mean?"

His chuckle caught me by surprise. "Don't be so hard on yourself, my man. Things have a way of working out."

The music swelled up again, and dancers streamed back onto the floor. I couldn't place the tune, but Pete recognized it immediately. "Woot! The Fray! My new favorite band!"

He caught the eye of a pretty young chaperone—a new teacher, maybe?—and melted into the crowd, cheering everyone on. I grinned in his direction, then began to listen to the lyrics.

_This is going to bring me clarity  
This'll take the heart right out of me _

_She is everything I need that I never knew I wanted _

_She is everything I want that I never knew I needed _

_  
This is going to bring me to my knees  
I just want to hold you close to me_

_She is everything I need that I never knew I wanted _

_She is everything I want that I never knew I needed_

My grin faded. It must be getting late; even the music was depressing me.

That's when I caught sight of Chloe, standing at the gym's entrance like a living vision in a dazzling blue gown. I blinked in disbelief. Hadn't Pete told me she'd turned him down?

It had been Lana who'd stood in that doorway two years ago, but the memory seemed dim and unreal compared with the cheerful radiance in front of me now. Unlike Lana, Chloe didn't float ethereally into the hall like some gossamer image. She glowed with life; her smile seemed nervous, but it lit up the room, and her cheeks were flushed from the brisk winter air outside. Her warm hazel eyes were set off by the sparkle of dangling silver earrings.

She was no dream. And she was breathtaking.

As I watched her teeter uncertainly on the threshold, balancing on too-high stiletto heels, I had to resist the urge to rush forward, pull her further inside, and wrap my arms around her. Because, of course, she wasn't alone.

Trailing behind her like a baby duckling was her photographer boyfriend. He hadn't even bothered to rent a tux; in his dull brown sweater and khakis, standing next to Chloe's graceful figure in midnight-blue satin and silver, he looked like a red-haired court jester attending a princess.

She caught my eye and smiled before I had time to wonder why she'd changed her mind about coming. I met her as she took a few careful steps inside, wobbling on her heels and wincing in visible discomfort.

"Hi, Chlo'! And, um, Jimmy." I nodded politely at his friendly grin. "What brings you here?"

"Reporting for emergency backup duty. Didn't Pete tell you? He said he had to leave early to do something-or-other for the Senator. He _so_ owes me a favor for this." She winced again. "My feet will need major massage therapy after spending a whole night in brand-new heels."

I stared at her, puzzled. "I don't understand. Pete didn't leave; he's out on the dance floor right now." I searched through the crowd as the song ended and the floor began to clear, and pointed to a far corner of the gym, where Pete was chatting with the D.J. "See? Over there."

Was that a trick of the light, or was Jimmy really blushing? "Oh. Guess he changed his mind."

My confusion grew as I noticed Pete smile at us from across the room. Jimmy's blush, I saw, had climbed up to his hairline.

"_What_?" Chloe exploded. "This was all a trick? And _you_, Jimmy—" she wheeled on her cowering boyfriend—"you played along!" She stamped her foot and yelped in pain. "You're both going to pay….right after I sit down and kick off these shoes."

I was beginning to get angry too. "If this is a joke, I don't think it's very funny," I told him stiffly as I helped Chloe hobble over to a chair. "She didn't want to come."

Jimmy followed along, fixing puppy-dog eyes on Chloe but, I noticed, carefully keeping his distance. "Sorry, Bright Eyes," he said apologetically. "You look amazing, you know that? Just like your Senior Prom picture." He turned to me. "Remember, C.K.? When she was Queen?"

Chloe, busily rubbing her bare feet, paused and glanced up at me. Her lips tilted into a smile, but her voice was tinged with regret. "Even I don't remember that, Jimmy."

"I remember," I said, trying to tell her with my eyes how much I agreed with Jimmy. "You made a beautiful Queen….um, even if it wasn't really you at the time. Long story," I told Jimmy over my shoulder.

His eyes had an oddly hopeful gleam as they darted between the two of us. "Aren't they all?" I heard him say cheerfully, but I'd already turned back to Chloe.

"I'm sorry I didn't dance with you at the Prom," I confessed, knowing it sounded as awkward as I felt. The flash of pain in her eyes was quick, but it was enough to make me realize how badly I'd hurt her that night, and how hard she'd worked to conceal that fact from me. She'd been my pillar of strength for so long that I'd gotten used to thinking of her as invulnerable; the realization that she wasn't hit me like a ton of green K bricks.

I reached down and curled my fingers around her small hand, resisting the urge to stroke her soft palm with my thumb. More than anything, I wanted to tell her how much she meant to me. But I couldn't, not with Jimmy breathing down our necks. The most I could do was look into her eyes, and smile.

A throat cleared loudly over my head, and I suddenly realized I'd been bending so low that my head nearly touched Chloe's. We both jumped and looked up to see Jimmy grinning down at us. "No time like the present," he remarked, gesturing at the dance floor. "Why don't you two take a turn?"

Chloe groaned. "My feet vote 'no.'"

"What about you?" I challenged him, annoyed. He'd brought her here on false pretenses, and he wasn't even going to dance? She deserved a better escort than that.

Jimmy's smile seemed almost sad. "Not right now. I need to go…..um, make a phone call." He was already backing away towards the door, ignoring Chloe's surprised stare. "Be right back." He turned and exited so fast that he nearly bowled over a couple standing close to the doorway.

"What's with everyone tonight?" Chloe demanded. "Is some new Krypto-virus going around?"

I was asking myself the same question. "Hmm." I squinted and switched into X-ray mode, following Jimmy as he crossed the school parking lot. Instead of stopping to use his cell phone, he kept on going.

"Something's up," I told Chloe. "I'm going to find out what it is. Right now." I turned to follow Jimmy.

"Clark! Don't leave!" Her worried tone stopped me in my tracks. I reached down again to take her hand, and this time I did run my thumb gently across her palm in slow, comforting strokes. "Don't worry," I whispered. "It's just for a minute. I promise."

She looked skeptical, and in her eyes I saw the same fear I'd seen all those years ago at our first Spring Formal. "I mean it, Chlo'," I told her, and kissed her forehead. "Really."

This time, I was going to make it my business to see that, for once, Chloe Sullivan wouldn't be alone at the dance. I left to get Jimmy.

The parking lot was deserted when I walked outside, but I could hear Jimmy's footsteps on the sidewalk a few yards away. After a cautious glance around, I switched into superspeed and took off.

Up ahead, a high hedge blocked the view around the street corner. I overshot Jimmy and rounded the corner, then slowed down to normal time and retraced my steps, swinging back around the hedge just as Jimmy reached it. "What do you think you're doing?" I asked him, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

Jimmy froze, the whites of his eyes so wide that they nearly glowed in the dark. "How..how'd you get here so fast?" he stuttered. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Normally, I'd apologize, but I was really angry by now. "I ran." I moved closer, and had the satisfaction of seeing him step back nervously. "Because I'd rather not see Chloe stood up tonight." My eyes held his. "Especially by the same guy who once told _me_ off for hurting her. I'm disappointed in you, Jimmy."

His breathing and heart rate had both been calming down, but now he stared at me in disbelief. "C.K., you're too much. Don't you get what I'm doing here?"

"Nope. Why don't you tell me on your way back to the dance?" I grabbed his arm, as gently as I could, and half-dragged him with me towards the school.

"OK, OK! Let me go, I'm coming!" I loosened my grip, and Jimmy straightened the sleeve of his sweater. "Not that it'll do much good. I'm not the one who should be with Chloe tonight."

By now I was totally confused. "What are you talking about?"

He looked away, muttering in a voice that was too soft for anyone but me to pick up. "I swear, if this guy were any more dense he'd be a fruit cake."

"_What_?"

Jimmy looked at me, startled. "You heard that? Sorry." He stopped to face me at the edge of the school parking lot, his cheery face unnaturally solemn in the moonlight. "C.K., I'll lay it on the line. Chloe wants you, not me. I wish it weren't true, believe me, but it's no use fooling myself."

For a moment I was speechless. "That's….you're wrong, Jimmy. She told me, weeks ago, she wasn't interested in hooking up with me. And since when do you care? You're her boyfriend."

"I care about making her happy," he said, almost defensively. I looked into his eyes for any hint of a joke, but I found none. "People don't always say what they mean, do they? Especially women who've been….hurt before."

I searched his face again. He couldn't be talking about Lana…..Could he?

Jimmy chuckled as if he'd guessed my question. "I was looking at a few old pictures tonight. They told quite a story." He shrugged. "I may not be good at reading old Egyptian, but I can sure read the handwriting on the wall."

"But…."

"You don't agree? Then I dare you. Go back in there," he said, jerking his head towards the well-lit gymnasium. "Tell her how you feel. See what happens."

"This is crazy. _You're_ crazy," I said, smiling, suddenly feeling a rush of warmth for this insane kid who cared so much about Chloe that he was willing to give her up for the sake of her happiness. Just like me.

He smiled back and cut off my protests. "She's a Queen, remember? Don't keep her waiting."

I walked back to the gym in a daze, not quite believing what had just happened. The dance floor was relatively empty during a brief lull in the music; I spotted Chloe right away, still barefoot, fidgeting in her chair, and searching the crowd with anxious eyes. When she saw me, her face relaxed into a sunny smile.

I crossed the floor quickly and took her hand. "What happened to Jimmy?" she asked, brows raised curiously.

"He's around," I answered. "We were…..just talking, outside. He told me something I never knew."

"Really? Jimmy? Huh. Maybe he'll make a good investigative reporter someday after all."

I grinned down at her. "I'm sure he will."

The music was starting up again, a slow, haunting melody that I knew well. I tugged gently on Chloe's arm. "I love this tune. Wanna dance?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Not without shoes."

"C'mon," I said, offering my other hand to help pull her up. "I'll protect your feet, your Majesty."

Slowly she rose, and I led her to the dance floor, where teenage couples were beginning to sway, cheek-to-cheek, in time with the music.

_Oh, my love, my darling,  
I've hungered for your touch a long, lonely time,  
Time goes by so slowly and time can do so much.  
Are you still mine?  
I need your love, I need your love, God speed your love to me._

I looked at the other dancers, pressing close to each other in lazy rhythm, and smiled at Chloe. "Did I mention that's one reason I love this song so much?" Ignoring her small gasp, I snaked one arm around her waist, gathering her in to me. She sighed and nestled her head on my shoulder. It fit perfectly.

_Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea  
To the open arms of the sea  
Lonely rivers sigh, 'Wait for me, wait for me'  
'I'll be coming home, wait for me!'_

"I have a confession to make, Chloe. I've been keeping a secret from you," I whispered softly.

She lifted her head, eyes bright with curiosity, her breath warm on my cheek. "What's that?"

My head dipped closer to hers until our lips met. She stiffened slightly at the touch, but slowly her mouth parted, and the kiss softened and deepened. I kept moving in time with the song, and it seemed to me that we were alone with each other and the music.

_Oh, my love, my darling,  
I've hungered for your touch a long, lonely time,  
Time goes by so slowly and time can do so much.  
Are you still mine?  
I need your love, I need your love, God speed your love to me._

We finally broke apart so that Chloe could catch her breath. Her mouth was a soft round "O," and the sparkle in her eyes outshone the twinkling lights strung along the ceiling.

"My feet don't hurt anymore," she whispered, smiling up at me. "We must be walking on air." Then she looked down. "Clark. We _are_."

I followed her eyes and saw, to my horror, that she was right. Our feet were moving together in perfect synchronization, at least an inch above the gym's floorboards. I met her widened eyes and gulped. "Oops." We dropped, landing with a small thud.

"Ouch!" Chloe winced and stretched her bare toes. "That hurt."

"Sorry." I stroked her cheek and watched her lips curve upward in response. "I don't know how that happened. I won't do it again."

"Are you kidding?" she whispered back, her mouth close to my ear. "That was awesome. We just need to work on that landing."

We. Chloe and I had always been a "we." Why had it taken me so long to figure that out?

"By the way," she added, huskily, "You never told me your secret."

"I'm in love with my best friend," I whispered, and kissed her again.

**Epilogue**

I zoomed in on the kissing couple in the center of the dance floor and pressed the shutter button.

"Great shot," a voice behind me drawled. I looked up and grinned.

"Great choice of music, buddy," I answered, as Pete returned my grin and clapped a friendly arm on my shoulder.

"The D.J. owed me a favor. And I know Clark loves that tune." He reached for my camera. "Trying to take over my job?" he joked.

I met his eyes, and I knew he was talking about more than just the picture. "Yeah," I answered, handing him my compact digital. "I don't mind being left out, as long as the shot comes out right."

He nodded, flipping through the pictures on my camera. "Yeah, buddy. I know what you mean."

He stopped to look at one of my shots and nodded admiringly. "That, my man, is excellent. Pure gold."

It was a full-length photo of Chloe and C.K. on the dance floor, her midnight blue satin dress swirling as she leaned into his arms. I thought primary colors suited C.K. better, but I had to admit the tux looked good on him. Together, they made a beautiful two-shot.

I peered at the digital image more closely. "That's weird. It almost looks as if they're floating in that shot."

Pete stared blankly at me, then back at the picture. "Nah….just a trick of the light." His laugh sounded forced. "You just caught the mood, man. Like any really great photographer." He looked up. "It is a great shot."

I thought of the Senior Prom photo spread in Chloe's yearbook, and shrugged. "The truth is, Pete, the picture's always been there. It just took a while to develop."

**THE END**

**Author's Note:** The first song is called "She Is," by The Fray, from their album "How to Save a Life." I highly recommend it!

The second song is a personal favorite of mine: "Unchained Melody," music by Alex North, lyrics by Hy Zaret, as performed by The Righteous Brothers. It's a classic, just like Chlark, so I thought it fit here. :)


End file.
